


Skating Blind

by sleepingtiltheworldends



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, M/M, barista!yuuri, blind!Victor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-18 03:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9366686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepingtiltheworldends/pseuds/sleepingtiltheworldends
Summary: Victor has always dreamed of becoming the best figure skater in the world, the only problem is, he got into an accident and lost the use of both his eyes. Without vision, how could he possibly achieve his goal? He had all but given up, until he bumped in to Yuuri, the barista at the newly opened cafe who just so happens to share Victor's dream.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi there, so this is Skating Blind! This will be a multi chapter fic and I will change and add tags as needed. A big shout out to my lovely friends who are my Betas, I wouldn't be able to do this if not for them. Comments are highly appreciated, I am on tumblr under the username my-poor-little-shipper-heart. Thank you.

“Stay here, ok Victor? I'm just going to run into the store and I’ll be back.”

“Ah, ok Yuri. I've got Maccachin out here with me so I'll be fine”

“Good. Don't do anything stupid.”

“Of course I won't, now go, I'll still be here when you come back.”

“Fine.” 

As Yuri ran up the stairs that lead to the small convenience store, Victor listened to the sound of his receding footsteps and when he couldn't hear it anymore he let out a small sigh. 

“Just you and me then, Maccachin” he told his pet poodle, but even Maccachin didn't respond aside from a lick to Victor’s outstretched hand. 

Victor went quiet and began to observe his surroundings as he stood outside the small group of stores lining the side of the road. He could hear all the cars driving around, the mumblings of people as they passed by and the muted sounds of the birds in the trees. It was finally autumn and the cool breeze that blew across Victor’s face told him winter was on its way. He always loved autumn in Detroit, the leaves on all the trees changing colour and eventually falling softly to the ground and the childlike joy that always spread through him whenever he heard the leaves crunch beneath his feet. Autumn was his favourite season. 

Victor tilted his head back, enjoying the warmth of the weakening sunlight dancing on his face. He took in a deep breath, letting the scents of the now familiar town engulf him. He had only been there for a couple of years as he had moved to the small town in Detroit from Russia to work on his english in university, whilst also continuing his ice skating. He had always dreamed of becoming the top ice skater in the world, though now his dreams seemed to be too far away. 

As he stood there thinking, he didn't notice the hurried noise of someone quickly approaching, not until the other person collided with him, with enough force to make Victor lose his balance and making them both drop the books they were holding. 

“Ahh, I'm so sorry!” Exclaimed the stranger, steadying Victor with a hand so he wouldn't fall after the moment of impact. 

“Ahahaha, it's ok,” replied Victor with a laugh. “Neither of us are hurt so it's fine.” He reached up to adjust his sunglasses. His other hand had landed on the person’s arm automatically, giving him a chance to realign himself and face the other. 

They both bent down to retrieve their dropped books and other items, Victor trying but failing to reach his stuff and instead tried to identify the one book that he had been carrying. 

“Sorry for bumping into you, I really should watch out next time.” The stranger said as he picked up his books and loose papers. 

“It's ok, really.” Said Victor, finally having found his thick reading book, but realising a small piece of paper was attached to the back he removed it and handed it to the other. 

“Ah, thanks.” They said and took it from Victor, accidentally grabbing his hand at the same time. They seemed a bit distracted, probably having a lot on their mind after a long day. However, they snapped out of their thoughts when they noticed Maccachin calmly sitting next to Victor. “Ngaaaaaawwww you have a poodle? They're the best! May I?” They asked, voice full of childlike adoration. 

“Hahahaha, of course you can. Maccachin loves people.” As they bent down to pat Maccachin, after a moment of somewhat awkward silence Victor asked, “ Uhmm...what's your name?”

“Ah, I'm Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki.” He said, and after a small pause, “I work at that little cafe down the road that's just opened up...You should go there sometime, it's nice and quiet.” He replied. “It's a great place for studying.” He added, almost like an afterthought. 

“Hmm, that does sound nice, plus it's getting colder so somewhere warm would be quite lovely.” Victor said. And under his breath he murmured to himself “And Yuri has to study ‘cause if he fails... his grandfather will kill both of us”

Yuuri paused for a moment, about to ask but instead said, “Then I'll be waiting for you there, I might even give u a free drink for all the trouble I've caused here hahaha…” And even though Victor didn't see it, he could sense the awkward smile that had spread across Yuuri’s face. “Ah! Speaking of work, I'll be late if I don't go now. It was quite nice meeting you, but I need to go, I'll see you around then, yeah?”

“Yeah sure, I'd love to visit the cafe sometime. Goodbye Yuuri.” 

“Jya, see you later!” Yuuri said cheerfully before leaving. 

Victor heard Yuuri running off, and was too distracted processing what had just happened to notice that Yuri had come up behind him just in time to see Yuuri leave. 

“What happened while I was gone?” Asked Yuri suspiciously. 

“Haha, nothing. Someone just bumped into me is all. Nothing bad.” Victor replied. 

“Idiot.” Yuri muttered as he bent down to get something off the floor. “Here, you dropped your stick.” He said as he handed Victor the white cane. “Be more careful next time.”

“It's actually really funny that he bumped into me y’know. His name is Yuuri too, what are the odds of that?” Said Victor. 

“What? Oh...hmmm...he seems familiar but I'm not sure where from. He said and after a moment of contemplation, he said with a shiver “Let’s go home now, I don't wanna be out when it gets cold.” 

“Lead the way then, my small, small friend.” Victor said with a smile. 

“Urgh, I hate you.” Yuri growled. 

They made their way slowly through the town, passing by Victor’s university and Yuri’s high school on their way to their shared flat. It wasn't a particularly lengthy walk, but the shortening days meant that the sun was already setting by the time they got home. 

Their flat was small, but nice. There were two bedrooms which were opposite to each other, a small dining room and kitchen, a cozy lounge and a bathroom at the end of the hallway. It may not have been a palace, but it was comfortable and had all the necessities. The reason they had chosen that flat nearly two years ago was because it was reasonably close to both their schools, and as it was at the top of a hill, and because you could see the entirety of the little town sprawling out from their balcony. It was quite an amazing sight, especially when the sun was setting. 

“What do you want for dinner, Yuri? I'll cook tonight” Victor said while he walked towards the kitchen. 

“Don't you dare touch the stove!! What do you mean you'll cook? Are you stupid? You're a danger in the kitchen.” Yuri snapped as he rushed into the kitchen to stop Victor. In a more gentle tone he said, “Nothing fancy today, ok? Just some piroshki, the way my grandpa makes it.” Yuri told Victor while pushing him out of the kitchen.

“Yay! One of my favourites.” Victor said and clapped joyously as he made his way to the lounge, which was connected to the dining area.

Not long after Yuri started cooking, the entire flat was filled with the delicious smell of food, and Victor, on his armchair, tired after a day full of studying and classes, sat and cleared his mind. He thought of everything that had gone on that day, from the usual morning routine and classes to the relaxed afternoon he had just experienced. Nothing particularly exciting happened that day, except perhaps the bump in and meeting of Yuuri. For some reason his thoughts seemed to wander to him, almost as if there was something familiar about him that Victor couldn't quite figure out. Before he could think too deeply about it, however, he was brought back to the present with Yuri’s somewhat noisy entrance, bringing with him the food that, just by the smell of it, wiped all of Victor’s thoughts and reminded him of how hungry he really was. 

“Mmmmmmm, it smells so good Yuri, I’m so glad I can always count on you to make your grandfather’s piroshki.” Victor said, slightly drooling with excitement, bumping into a chair as he made his way to the dining table. 

“Well, go on and eat it then, what are you waiting for?” Yuri himself took one from the plate and bit in, enjoying the fruits of his labour. 

“Aaaahhh, so good Yuri, you really are amazing” Victor said after taking his first bite. 

“Stop it, you're putting me off my food” Yuri said, embarrassed, but smiled even though Victor couldn't see it. 

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence, which was only broken by the occasional whine from Maccachin, at which Victor would remind him that he's already had dinner. At one point throughout their evening, Victor asked Yuri what their plan for tomorrow would be. 

“Seeing as tomorrow is Saturday, we can do whatever we want, it's not like I've got anything else planned.” He said. 

“Oh yay, because I was kinda hoping we could go to the little cafe down the road. You know the one that just opened?” 

“Hm, I guess we can go there. I've heard about it from some of my classmates, apparently it's quite nice.” He said and thought for a moment, and with a sly grin he commented, “Since when did you go to cafes for fun? Only old people go there for no reason. People your age only go for the free wifi to study. You really are turning into an old geezer y’know, going to cafes? What's next huh? Gonna do some knitting while you're there?” Yuri said with a hint of a laugh. 

Victor pouted for a moment but broke into laughter a second later. “You know I'm only three years older than you.”

“Yeah but you’re basically a grandpa with the way you act.” 

“Rude. But at least I'm not a child like you, high school students are basically just a bunch of kids.” Victor retorted. “By the way, you're coming with me, you have to study y’know. I know you don't study here at home and as the adult here I'm obliged to force you to study.”

“Hey! I'm in my last year y’know, I'm 18. I'm about to graduate and join the ‘big kids’ in college soon. Also, fine, I have a ton of homework to do that I've been putting off for ages, so I guess I'll tag along with you, as long as you treat me to coffee”

“Hahahahaha, yeah, yeah, what a big kid you are.” He said with a light chuckle, “Anyways, thanks for the meal, c’mon Maccachin let's go get ready for bed.” A small woof and the sound of pawsteps padding after him was the only way Victor could tell that Maccachin was following. 

Later, while in bed, Victor’s thoughts once again drifted to the person he met in the streets that day. He didn't understand why he kept thinking of Yuuri, all he could remember from the encounter was a gentle, though somewhat panicked voice and the touch of his surprisingly soft hands on his arm, and briefly on his hand. As he recalled more minute details like the fact that his fingers were slender, yet strong, much like that of a piano players’ and the lingering smell of coffee that clung to him, Victor felt something stir in his chest. He continued to think and try to explain to himself why he was so interested in the stranger until eventually he drifted off into sleep.  
________

“Hey Yuuri, are you alright? You seem a bit tired.”

Yuuri snapped out of his daze and looked up to see Phichit with a mixed look of concern and amusement. 

“Oh, haha nah, I've just got a lot on my mind I guess.” He replied. 

“Well, try not to burn the milk while daydreaming then.” Phichit said with a laugh. 

“Oh no!” Yuuri exclaimed, only just realising that the milk he was steaming was about to burn. After just barely saving the milk, he turned to give Phichit a sheepish grin. “Thanks.” He said with a hint of sarcasm. 

“Anytime my friend, hahaha” Phichit shot back. “So what's been on your mind so much? You keep losing focus and start daydreaming, is anything wrong?” He asked while wiping down the counter. 

The two of them had been working at the cafe for a few months now and were sharing a flat close to their college. They were both in the same year and had been friends for quite a while, meeting each other at the local ice rink and becoming best friends before long. Phichit hadn't seen Yuuri so distracted since their first exam, so he was both curious and worried. 

“Oh it's nothing, really. I think I'm just distracted because because of our upcoming exams, plus training has been a bit hard on me lately. Not to mention that this weather really makes me...sleepy” Yuuri yawned and looked out of the window to see the constant downpours of rain continue to fall, it had been raining since that morning and after a late night of studying paired with the soothing sound of rain hitting the roof and working with very few customers all day, Yuuri felt the pull of sleep tugging at him. 

“Well, if you’re really tired from banging the books all night, you could take a quick nap inside.” Phichit suggested with a smirk while pointing behind him to the small break room. “I'll make sure you don't get caught.” He added with a laugh. 

“Oh ha ha, very funny.” Yuuri replied, this time his voice was dripping with sarcasm, “You and I both know that if I do that Yuuko will kill me then fire me.”

“Eh, fair enough.” Phichit replied with a shrug and went back to cleaning. 

The lack of customers was making the day go by quite slowly, and the few customers there were college students who didn't do much else except stay in their seats with their books or laptops, and although he personally liked the rain, the gloomy weather did nothing to help pass the time. It was 12pm and Yuuri had been working since 9.Just as Yuuri thought he would drop from exhaustion and boredom, he heard the sound of two people talking outside the door followed by the small ding of the bell as they walked in. Yuuri stood a little bit straighter and watched as the two stood for a while to rid themselves of their wet coats. One of them, the taller one, had naturally silver/grey hair, which had miraculously stayed dry through the downpour, that hung down over one half of his face, covering his left eye and wore dark sunglasses even though there was very little sunshine. He wore a long black coat over black skinny jeans and a plain white shirt. His younger friend had shoulder length blonde hair with similar face covering bangs, except it covered the opposite half. He wore a blue, white and red jacket over a black shirt with a tiger head printed on it and tight black jeans. He also sported some cheetah printed high top shoes which matched his cheetah print school bag. For some reason, Yuuri thought they both looked familiar but he couldn't quite figure out where he’d seen them from. 

Yuuri also noticed the White Cane that the grey haired man held, and the soaking wet poodle with a red vest that they had brought. Usually, pets weren't allowed in the cafe, but Yuuri wasn't stupid and knew a seeing eye dog when he saw one. 

Then suddenly it clicked. 

This was the incredibly handsome stranger he had bumped into yesterday with the poodle. He had no idea why it took him so long to recognise the other, seeing as very few people had hair like him and made such an interesting first impression, but now that he had, he felt a slight blush rise to his face. He had suggested coming here, but he never really thought that they would come and now that they were herec, he internally cringed as he recounted the encounter yesterday. But then again, this person seemed more familiar than a stranger he met yesterday, Yuuri thought that he knew him from somewhere else too. 

“Ughhhhhh Victor, remind me why I decided to get up today and walk through the rain just to do some shitty homework in a cafe?” Yuuri heard the blonde one complain as they walked towards one of the booths at the end of the cafe, close to the counter where Yuuri stood. 

“Because, Yuri,” Victor said in a calm, placating voice, “if you don't do your homework and study, you might fail, and if you fail your grandfather will bring us both back to Russia and murder us.” So his name is also Yuri? What are the odds? Yuuri thought as he observed their conversation. 

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhh.” Yuri grumbled as he sat down. 

“Now then, what would you like to get? I'll order us some drinks and a snack if you want.” Victor replied. 

“I'll come with you.” Yuri said after a moment of unpacking his bag. 

“Ok, Maccachin, you stay here.” Victor commanded the dog, and Maccachin obediently curled up under the table, not bothering any of the other customers. Using one hand for the white Cane and the other feeling the wall and counter, Victor eventually made it to the cashier with a bit of help from the other Yuri. 

After a quick discussion on their part, they both faced Yuuri, ready to order. 

“H-how may I help you?” Yuuri cringed inside again, cursing himself for stuttering. He didn't understand why he was so awkward today, usually he wasn't too bad with social situations but today seemed a bit off, maybe because there was a lot on his mind, Yuuri felt especially awkward. Victor stood, idly toying with the money he held in his hand and smiled before making his order. 

“Hi, I'll grab a flat white, a mocha and a few chocolate chip cookies, thanks.” Victor said. 

“Sure thing,” Yuuri quickly rung it up, “Your total is $12.50, uh, I'll bring it over to you later.” Yuuri said and handed Victor a number card. Like before, their hands accidentally touched, most likely because Victor couldn't see where his hands were, and he thought he saw Victor’s head shoot up, almost as if he recognised the voice and hands of Yuuri’s, but Yuuri kept his eyes trained down to his hands so that the other Yuri, who was disinterestedly looking around, at least wouldn't be able to see the light blush and look of surprised recognition that was sure to be on his face should he look up for too long. 

“Thanks.” Yuri spoke up for Victor when he didn't move or reply. 

“Yeah...thanks.” Victor echoed, lost in thought. 

As they made their way back to their booth, Yuuri took a deep breath and thought to call out to Phichit who was in the back room taking his break then decided against it and got to work making their drinks. Since he wasn't in a rush, he decided to make their drinks as well as he possibly could. Even if it only killed a few extra minutes, he didn't mind. He took special care with heating the milk, making sure to use the thermometer so it wouldn't be too thick, flat whites were quite simple so there wasn't much else to do aside from the milk and the shot, so he proceeded to the mochaccino. 

Once he finished making the drinks and had gotten a plate full of cookies, he brought them over to the booth where they sat. As he approached them, Victor turned his head towards him and looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't utter a word as Yuuri placed down their drinks and plate in equal silence. 

“Thanks.” Was all Yuri said to Yuuri, not even bothering to look up from where he was busily typing into his laptop and checking the notes on the book next to it. 

Yuuri retreated once more to his post at the counter, and for the better part of an hour he was content to just wait and listen to the ever present rain and quiet chatter in the cafe. However, Yuuri eventually got bored and let his mind wander as he stood there waiting for any incoming customers, so when Phichit came out after his break, they quietly chatted after doing everything they could to make sure the place was as clean and organised as possible. 

As the hours went by, a few customers came in and out, keeping Yuuri and Phichit somewhat busy, and as the rain finally relented in the late afternoon, they saw most people leave the cafe except for three. Victor and Yuri were still stationed at their booth and a dark haired man with an undercut was sitting at the other end of the cafe. Occasionally, Victor would come up to the counter and order more drinks and food for them, and every time he did, Yuuri would remember that Victor had come to this cafe because he recommended it. For some reason that thought made him smile. 

When Victor and Yuri finally decided to go home, it was 5pm and the sun was starting to set. Yuuri saw them pack up and realised that he too would be going home soon. He usually left the cafe at 6 so he could do some free practice at the ice rink or finish up some homework, depending on which one he needed or wanted to do more. Usually he went to the rink. 

He was momentarily lost in thought again, but was brought back by the person in front of him clearing their throat. It was Victor. 

“Do you know if Yuuri is working here today?” He asked. 

“Uhh, well, yes. I mean, I'm Yuuri.” He awkwardly replied. 

“Oh great!” Victor said with a smile, “I just wanted to thank you for telling us about this place, it's really nice and Yuri finally did something productive which is good. I think we might come here more often, so thanks.” 

Odd, people don't usually stop to say thanks. Yuuri thought to himself. “Thank you, it was a pleasure having you here. I look forward to seeing you again.” Yuuri said to Victor, mirroring his smile. It was a textbook answer and something that Yuuko had trained him to say should he be in this situation. 

Victor gave him another warm smile before turning and walking over to Yuri where he was waiting to leave. 

“Wipe that stupid smile off your face old man.” Was all Yuuri could hear as they walked off. 

Yuuri just stared at the door for a second longer and thought about how intriguing this Victor guy was. Yuuri didn't know why, but he really wanted to know more about him, he seemed so interesting and different to everyone else in this little town. Yuuri was always the curious type and this guy, he just made Yuuri want to find out what his story was, so maybe, that's what he'll do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start progressing and feelings start bubbling up? A bit of tension, a lot of awkward and one very confused Yuuri.

“Let’s go already, we’ve been here for so long today. And wipe that stupid smile off your face old man,” Yuri complained as they finally left the cafe and were heading back to their flat. 

“Hmm? Oh, I didn’t realize I was smiling that much,” Victor said, but continued to smile anyways. “You were so productive today though, I’m proud of you. Didn’t you like that cafe?” he asked as they passed Yuri’s school.

“Well…” Yuri thought for a moment, “It was quite nice, I guess.” Yuri looked down to the ground and smiled a bit, he actually really liked the place, for more than one reason, but wouldn’t dream of telling Victor why or he’d never hear the end of it. He could already imagine how Victor would react, something like:

“Oh yay, since you like it, we can go there every Saturday and you can study!” Victor said just as Yuri was thinking it. Yuri nearly snapped his neck trying to turn it up to look at Victor with horror. He must have gotten mind reading powers or something when he got into that accident because there is no way in the world Victor could’ve just randomly thought the exact same thing Yuri did. Yuri gave Victor the dirtiest look he could, knowing full well that Victor wouldn’t even see it. 

“Uh uh, no way. I'm not going there every Saturday. I've got a life y’know?! I didn’t say that I want to go there all the time, I just said it was kinda nice,” Yuri grumbled. 

“Well, I know you were working really hard today because you go all quiet and don’t talk for ages when you’re in full ‘work mode’," Victor replied, then with a sly little smirk he added, “Just imagine how happy your grandfather will be when he sees you’ve graduated with straight A’s, he might just visit and give you a treat.”

After another pause, in which Victor could almost see the mental gears in Yuri’s head turning, processing this thought and realising what could happen, he replied with a simple, “Ugh, fine. You win this round Old Man.” 

Victor simply laughed.  
_______________

Surprisingly true to his promise, Yuri had gotten ready to study on Saturday morning and almost seemed eager for it, so they made their way down to the little cafe laden with textbooks, stationery and a laptop exactly one week after first visiting. Much to their dismay it was not as empty as it had been the last time they were there, in fact, it seemed to be buzzing with activity, however that did not sway their resolution to get work done. 

Victor could hear the sound of people chatting and the constant thrum of the coffee machine in the background. It seemed a lot more busy this time round, most likely because of the good weather. Inside the cafe once more, Victor felt a bit uncomfortable because of the unfamiliar surroundings and the mass of people inside. It felt muggy and overcrowded. Luckily for the two of them, they were able to get a table near the back once more, miraculously empty. By the time Yuri had gone up and ordered their food and drinks, the rush of people was slowly ebbing away. This small break from the crowd was a relief to Victor as he had been worried that the noise would have distracted Yuri. He sat there patiently and Yuri joined him wordlessly, he heard the soft thwack of an opening book and a pen beginning to write, followed by the quiet clacking of his laptop keys.

With nothing to do, Victor pulled out an old fashioned iPod shuffle from his pocket and was just listening to music, one earbud in his ear and the other one out so he could still hear. However, after only 10 minutes Victor could feel himself grow restless. He wanted to talk to someone instead of sit in silence, and he realised that if he were to do this every Saturday, he would need a way to keep himself busy. This restlessness is what urged him to find his way to the counter and sit there in front of the coffee machine as the barista made the drinks. 

“Hi there, is there anything you need?” asked a familiar voice from the other side of the counter. 

“Oh, umm, no, not really. I just wanted to, uh, sit,” he replied, a little bit hesitant. 

“Then, by all means, uh, do sit,” said the voice.

After a slightly awkward pause, Victor tapping absent mindedly on the counter, he blurted out the first thing that popped in his head, “You don’t happen to know where Yuuri is do you? He said he works here?” 

Victor heard a light chuckle from the other side followed by the worker saying, “Yeah, I work here. It’s Victor, right? You never really said but I just assumed because your friend called you that so...”

Victor flushed lightly and laughed too, “Yeah, I’m Victor, Victor Nikiforov,” he paused to adjust the sunglasses that were slipping down his nose, then reached out his hand for a somewhat awkward handshake. “How's your work going?” 

“Oh, it's good. Just hold on a minute, this is the last drink for me to make for now,” Yuuri told Victor and what immediately followed was the sound of a blender at high speed, some sloshing liquids and the sound of glass hitting glass. Not long after was a small silence with the light echo of retreating footsteps where Yuuri had left to give the order to his customer, then the volume increasing as he came back. A tall glass was placed in front of Victor with the clink of glass on wood and the sweet smell of chocolate wafting up, bringing Victor out of his momentary daydream. “Here’s your order, the small blonde kid over there asked me to bring it to you and told me to tell you to stay here because you…annoy him?”

Victor laughed a little, “Ah yes, that’s Yuri, my friend. I’ve convinced him to come here every Saturday to study, which is great, but now he’s a bit salty.”

“Hahaha, it seems like it.” Yuuri laughed, somewhat awkwardly, yet relaxed. “So Victor,” Yuuri said as he leaned back against the counter behind him, “You came.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Truth be told, I’m kinda surprised. I didn’t think you’d actually wanna come ‘round.”

“Well, I’m really happy I did, this place is nice. And I feel like our roadside conversation was cut way too short.”

“Haha, yeah it was, wasn’t it?” Yuuri said thoughtfully. “Hey, I was kinda wondering, do you go to the uni just down the road?”

“Yup, it’s my third year there, I’m here for Music and English, but I was also here for, uh, sports. How about you?”

“I knew it! I thought I’d seen you around before but I wasn’t really sure. Oh um yeah, I'm in my second year, in music too, and dance, also I’m doing ice skating. Which sport were you doing?” 

“Oh uh, it doesn’t matter anymore, but I used to be in ice skating too. I kinda quit last year…” Victor trailed off lamely.

“Aww, how come?”

“It's because, well,” he sighed, as if this was something he was asked so often it was wearing him out. “I got into this accident last year which made it hard for me to keep skating…’cause I kinda, i uh, lost my sight,” he replied quietly, almost whispering.

“Oh my gosh, how exactly did it happ-” 

Before Yuuri could finish asking his question, a voice from the back room called out.

“Yuuuuuuuuriiii, could you come here please? I need you to help me out ‘cause I kinda screwed up the shelving order...again.” 

“Oh dear, that's my cue I guess,” he said, letting out a small sigh of his own. “Sorry Victor I need to sort this out but I'll see you afterwards ok?” Yuuri told him before turning around to yell back, “I'm coming Phichit, just don't move ANYTHING.”

As Victor sipped his milkshake and mentally reviewed the short conversation he just had with Yuuri, very much relieved that the questions had been cut short, as he hated talking about his accident, or even thinking about it because it always brought up bad thoughts and terrible memories. So instead he tried to comb through his memories trying to recall the name ‘Yuuri Katsuki’ from his time on the rink and on campus the 2 years before, but unfortunately nothing came up. He could only vaguely remember one time when he had bumped into some shy, maybe black haired asian kid in the year below him after his practice time on the rink, but that couldn’t have been Yuuri, had it? Victor tried recalling anything about him, but he still couldn’t quite put a face to his name. 

_______________

“Ok Phichit, what did you do this time?” Yuuri asked, walking into the storage room.

“Oh, I didn't actually need any help,” Phichit replied.

“Wait what?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to get you over here because I saw you talking to that gorgeous guy over there and I want all the details,” Phichit replied with a smirk on his face as he leaned back, crossing his arms. “So, out with it, who's the guy?”

“You've got to be kidding me,” Yuuri said with a groan, literally face-palming. “You ruined a perfectly good conversation y’know.”

“What? I wanna know everything there is to know about you and Mr Handsome Mystery Man. I mean, he's seriously hot.” 

“There's nothing ‘between us’ this is only, like, the second or third time I've seen him. Okay, yeah I admit he's quite attractive, but I barely know him!” 

“You don't know him that well…yet. You just need a bit of my match-making magic and I'll get you two together,” Phichit said with a dubious little laugh and a cheeky wink. 

“Uh, yeah no. Not this time. Nope not again, I refuse. You're not gonna play Cupid again. You remember what happened last time you tried set me up with someone?”

“Yeah, well, that was in the past alright? Besides, how would I have known that he had a peanut allergy?!” he replied with a huff. “This time will be different, I promise! It'll be so perfect!!”

“No way, you don't get to be matchmaker this time. Hold on, I never even said I like him!? I don't know the guy, okay? I've only talked to him, what, twice? That's not enough to develop feelings for anyone!” Yuuri exclaimed in frustration, already feeling the hot blush rising to his cheeks as he tried to stop it from making him go completely red. 

“Suuuuree….” Phichit said, rolling his eyes then sticking his tongue out at Yuuri. “Well then, Mr I-don't-like-the-super-cute-guy-right-outside, I'm gonna get back to my job,” they both froze as the tinkle of the doorbell announced the presence of more customers. “And it looks like you need to get back to yours.”  
___________

Walking out of the cramped little storage room, Yuuri was only able to spare a quick glance back to where Victor was sitting to make sure he was still there before the new wave of people distracted him with their coffee orders and small talk. 

After taking care of the customers, which took an annoyingly large amount of time, Yuuri went back to the bar where he knew Victor would be waiting, but was only disappointed to see an empty glass on the counter top. Looking over, he found that Victor had gone back to his table with Yuri, but this time he was sitting next to a tall two-toned blonde and brown haired man. Yuuri watched from afar as the new man said something making all three of them laugh.

As much as Yuuri had wanted to continue talking to Victor, he also understood that he was working at the moment, now wasn’t the time or place to be trying to make new friends. So Yuuri let the time pass him by, doing order after order, greeting person after person, until it was his break time, and only then did he turn to look once more at that table to see Victor and the blonde-brown haired guy still chatting quietly together, sitting side by side, with the other man’s arm around Victor, across from where Yuri sat studying. 

Upon seeing this, Yuuri felt a bit sad, almost discouraged, though he didn’t quite understand why. 

While in the break room, Yuuri took a moment to pause, to look back on what had happened that day, and was genuinely surprised in himself. Usually it took him quite a while after meeting someone new before he felt that he could interact with them comfortably and actually want to talk to them, but for some reason Victor was different. There was something so confusingly interesting about him that Yuuri couldn’t help but feel curious and want to learn more about him, and there was something about the way he spoke and moved that felt oddly familiar, that made Yuuri want to be his friend. It wasn’t romantic attraction, Yuuri knew what that was like and this wasn’t quite it, it was more of a hunger to learn more about what happened to this guy. He had so many questions running through his head, particularly ones that were asking how Victor had gotten into his accident and why he’d quit skating. Yuuri thought he’d seen Victor before, and now he knew he was right. Ever since last Saturday, Yuuri had been trying to recall whether or not he’d seen Victor before and just yesterday he vaguely remembered seeing Victor on the university campus occasionally throughout his first year of uni, and sometimes on the rink, but they never really practiced at the same time which is why he couldn’t remember Victor. Looking back, Yuuri realized why he hadn’t recognized Victor at first. The year before, Victor had very long hair and was constantly surrounded by other people, usually a lot of girls. He always gave off the aura of self confidence both on and off the rink, moving and talking to people with a self-assurance that Yuuri had never known, but Victor didn’t display that anymore. Now, Victor was more toned down, and Yuuri was confused as to why. The obvious answer would’ve been the accident, but Yuuri had no clue as to what happened, as much as he wanted to find out.

Yuuri didn’t have too much time to dwell on these questions, however, because his break was coming to an end, and looking at the clock, Yuuri realized that it was nearly closing time. Their cafe always closed relatively early on Saturdays, not going into the night hours like some shops, and today was no exception. Nearing 5 pm, Phichit and Yuuri began the process of packing and cleaning up. The only customers left were once again Yuri and Victor, and the dark haired guy sitting in the back. 

As Victor and Yuri were leaving the cafe, Victor turned to the counter, facing Yuuri like before but this time simply smiling at him followed by,

“See you next Saturday, Yuuri.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but feel happy and somewhat excited at the thought of next Saturday.  
______________

Within a month, a routine, almost a system, was formed between the three of them. Every Saturday Victor and Yuri would head down from their flat to the little cafe tucked in the corner of the square, ready to study, and Yuuri would be there, ready and waiting for their arrival. Victor and Yuri would set down their things, order their food and drinks, and Yuri would study for the next several hours, occasionally taking breaks. Yuuri would make their drinks each time, a hot chocolate for Yuri and always something new for Victor. Each time was a surprise, usually Victor would choose whatever is on their weekly special, but sometimes he’d be given a menu and just put his finger anywhere and that would be it. It always amused Yuuri to see what new and often times random drink Victor had selected for the week. Every time, Victor would move to the bar stool where he and Yuuri had their first proper conversation, however short it had been, and the two of them would talk. 

They would chat as Yuuri worked, talking about every subject under the sun, telling stories about school and work, hobbies and books, sometimes going on the weirdest tangents about the most random of things and sharing a bit about their pasts and why they’re both in Detroit, but Yuuri noticed that Victor never spoke about ice skating or what had happened the previous year. Whenever Yuuri tried to bring it up subtly Victor would change the subject or, with his strangely bad luck, he’d have a customer to tend to in the exact moment. 

During those Saturdays, Yuuri learned a lot about Victor, and in turn he shared a lot about himself. That was the most surprising thing to Yuuri as normally he wouldn’t have the ability to talk much about himself, especially to someone he’d met so recently, but every time they started talking a weirdly comfortable confidence overcame Yuuri, allowing him to talk, joke and laugh with such ease he doubted he was even the same person. He was also surprised by how much he knew about Victor from these small chats, like how his favourite colour was blue like the ocean where he grew up, or that his dog, Maccachin, had been an old seeing eye dog put up for adoption when his previous owner had died, and that he and Yuri had moved here not too long ago for educational opportunities from Russia. 

It was interesting, how quickly he had made friends with this person, something he would usually find very difficult to do, and yet their interactions seemed to be strictly constricted to these Saturday afternoons, which neither bothered him nor made him feel content with the amount of time they got to spend together. He wanted to hang out with Victor more, but he also knew that both of their schedules probably wouldn’t handle such leisurely activities very well, so Yuuri stayed silent on the matter, allowing the days and weeks to pass by as Autumn turned to Winter.

It didn’t take very long for Phichit to notice that Yuuri’s behaviour always changed on Saturdays, and Phichit, being the intuitive guy he is, also realised that every Saturday Yuuri would have an incredibly long chat with Victor, the Beautiful Mystery Man TM, and that each Saturday, Yuuri would end the day with a tender little smile and a sparkle in his eyes. He easily put the two together and suddenly he knew, and being the good best friend that he is, he wanted to help Yuuri out with his little predicament. So on one of these Saturdays nearly a month and a half since the first visit, before Victor and the other Yuri arrived, Phichit pulled his Yuuri to the side to talk. 

“Okay, we need to talk, it’s time for you to spill the beans,” Phichit said, completely serious.

“What?” Yuuri replied, not having a clue as to what Phichit was talking about.

“You like Victor, don’t you?” he said with a crooked little smile.

“WHAT?!” Yuuri nearly shouted as his cheeks suddenly burned with the hot flush of an intense blush that covered his face immediately.

“HA! I knew it!” Phichit exclaimed. “I kneeeeww it!!”

“Wh-what, no! No, I don’t like him! Oh my God Phichit, you can’t just say stuff like that. I only just became friends with him.”

“Oh yeah? Then why do you get super excited every Saturday?”

“Because… Because he’s a friend and I’m allowed to be excited to see a friend, a-and because Saturdays are just one of my favourite days, ok?”

“Sure. And what about all that flirting at the counter with him?”

“Flirting?! What are you talking about? We’re just talking,” Yuuri let out an exasperated sigh followed by a deep breath. “Look, I don’t like him like that, okay?” he began, his voice getting softer and more gentle than before, “He’s a really interesting person and I like talking to him. That doesn’t mean I like him.” He closed his eyes for a moment and completely calmed down. “Look, I’m gonna go out there and do my job. Please don’t do anything to try set me up with Victor or anything, okay? This is one of those rare times that I’ve made a friend outside school or work or training, you of all people know how hard that is for me, but this guy is different, he’s a lot easier to talk to and I like that I can just talk without feeling judged, so please just leave him alone. Will you do that? For me?”

Phichit let out a tiny sigh, barely audible, “Of course I will, you know I can’t say no to you when you’re like this.”

“Thank you Phichit, it means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, almost pouting, “But hey, just a tip though, if you want to talk to him more or hang out with him or something, as a friend," he said emphasising the word ‘friend’ while putting his hands up in surrender, “just ask him. You guys somehow clicked really well, I’m sure he’d want to.”

Yuuri scrunched up his face into a sort of grimace. “Ehh, but what if I end up annoying him? Besides, I doubt he’d want to or have any time to just hang out. Nah, these Saturdays are fine,” Yuuri said, a bit deflated.

“Suit yourself. But if I were you, I’d invite him to hang out, that way I’d be able to talk without all the hustle and bustle of the shop,” Phichit suggested.

“Hmm, maybe. I dunno, I don’t want to assume that he’s okay to hang with me outside of work, or that he’d want to. I’ll ask though, maybe. Uuughhh,” he groaned, “I hate this, why can’t I just function like a normal human being?”

Phichit snickered slightly, “Honestly, I ask the same question every day.”  
____________

While waiting at the counter after his little chat with Phichit, Yuuri began to wonder, was Phichit right? Did he like Victor romantically? He thought about it for a minute, then came to a very solid conclusion: he did not like Victor that way at all. Everything was completely and utterly platonic between them, and that’s how Yuuri wanted to keep it. However, Phichit was right about one thing, they did get along pretty well together and Victor seemed like he actually liked being around Yuuri, a slightly new concept for him to understand, which was what made Yuuri decide to ask Victor to hang out after today. 

After making this decision, Yuuri began to rehearse and plan out exactly how he was going to ask Victor, something along the lines of ‘would you like to hang out sometime?’ or something, but everytime he tried to think of a good way to do it, his brain would think of 20 different ways it could go wrong. He was starting to think that maybe he would just not say anything at all when suddenly, speak of the devil, Victor and Yuri walked in, as per usual. 

“Good morning!” Victor said with a warm smile as he walked by.

“Ah, uh, morning?” was Yuuri’s reply, and just like that all confidence leaked out of him as a light blush rose to his face. ‘Well that went amazingly’ he thought, inwardly cringing. ’Maybe I won’t do this today, it might just be too rushed. I’ll give it more time, besides, what’s the hurry?’ he said in his mind, debating with himself whether or not he could do it. Before the little argument could come to an end however, he remembered that he needed to work and that there was someone at the counter right in front of him. It seemed like just his luck because there in front of him was none other than the man himself, Victor. Yuuri could feel the question, the urge to just blurt out everything, he could feel it all bubbling inside him, just waiting to burst out, but he managed to control himself. Instead, he did the same thing he’s been doing for the past month, he smiled, took his order and went about the day like all the other past Saturdays. 

As the hours flew by, chatting to Victor, dealing with more customers and hiding from Phichit’s watchful eyes, Yuuri knew he should at the very least try to muster enough courage to invite Victor to do something other than sit in this little cafe, but every time he tried, it seemed his voice just wouldn’t cooperate. Yuuri really didn’t understand what was happening to him, it wasn’t hard for him to talk to Victor, in fact he felt better talking to him than most people, but whenever he tried to offer up an invite to someplace else, Yuuri could feel himself get about as nervous as he felt before his first ice skating tournament. This is what perplexed Yuuri the most as he had already come to terms with the fact that he didn’t like Victor romantically, so why all the nerves? Yuuri felt a bit embarrassed with himself, acting so weirdly about such a casual and simple thing. He was friends with Victor, why shouldn’t they hang out?

Yet, his nerves still got the better of him. He liked the cafe because it was his safe space, somewhere he knew and felt comfortable around, and changing things up was never a good idea to him. So Yuuri decided to wait for a better time before asking Victor out. ‘Oh God I didn’t mean it like that!’ Yuuri said in his head. He didn’t know that it was possible to phrase something wrong in your mind and feel embarrassed by it, but now he knew it was, feeling a blush rise once again to his cheeks. 

Nearing the end of the day, as Yuuri began the pack up routine without Phichit, as he had a minor emergency to tend to, he noticed something slightly different about the place. He was so used to seeing Yuri at the small table at the back, Victor at the front bar and the other dark haired, college looking student at the bar next to the window that, for a moment something seemed to be weirdly out of place. Then Yuuri realised what it was. That silent black haired guy with the leather jacket who was usually at the window bar was sitting somewhere else today, he was sitting next to Yuri. He hadn’t really noticed the change until now, yet it felt somewhat important.

Yuuri didn’t know why that had surprised him so much, but it did. However, what was more surprising was that as Yuuri was cleaning, they both quickly packed up, walked over to tell Victor something, then they left. Thus leaving Yuuri and Victor completely alone in a very silent cafe, waiting for each other to speak up, both trying to ask the same question without making a sound. Before the silence could go on for too long, Victor cleared his throat, ready to break through the sudden tension in the atmosphere. 

“So Yuuri, I-” but Victor was cut short, with Yuuri blurting out the one thing that had been on his mind since the beginning of the day:

“D’you wanna go out?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH I'm so sorry for only posting this now, I was meant to do it ages ago but school has been hectic and a lot more busy than i was expecting. I'll try find a way to update more regularly, maybe every two months if I can handle it? I'm not sure but I'll try. Thank you so much for reading, comments are highly appreciated and another little shoutout to my friends AJ and Georgia for being my Betas, without them this chapter would probably be really crap.  
> Sorry for taking forever to post, I'll see ya again next time!


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